Commonwealth Games Ticket Demand Leads To Ticketmaster Website Delay

A "rush of applications" for 1 million tickets to the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow "has led to long delays on the event's website," according to Severin Carrell of the London GUARDIAN. Tickets for the 2014 Games went on sale at 10am on Monday, and organizers, who "had studied the chaos with ticket sales for the 2012 London Olympics, hoped to avoid congestion on the first day by giving fans four weeks to apply for tickets." However, soon after the website went live, applicants "were being warned of delays of an hour." The organizers "again urged fans to take their time bidding for tickets." Glasgow 2014 Deputy CEO Ty Speer said that the ticketing process -- run by the same firm whose website crashed for the 2012 London Olympics, Ticketmaster -- "had been designed to be as stress-free as possible" (GUARDIAN, 8/19). The BBC reported Glasgow 2014 organizers said tickets will be allocated by a "fair and simple draw." A Glasgow 2014 spokesperson said, "It makes no difference whether you apply on the first day, the last day or any day in between as long as your application is completed by 6pm on Sept. 16" (BBC, 8/19).